Device Could Help Prevent Collisions

By Staff Writer | September 18, 2007

Electronic Newsgathering, Emergency Medical Service, Fire, Police

An Arizona helicopter pilot and a technology company are taking steps they hope will prevent accidents like the mid-air collision in Phoenix, Ariz. last month where four people were killed. The system’s aim is to provide communications to pilots who are hooked into the system and are within one mile of each other. The device would be wireless-based and work off a NAVSTAR global positioning system. If the aircraft are within 300 ft of one another, an alarm would sound. Chris Morrison, president of Scottsdale-based Nuvo Technologies and Ralph Gannarelli, an aircraft mechanic and former television news helicopter pilot, filed a patent for the device last week. The device, to which a name has not yet been assigned, could cost $50,000 per helicopter and would have to be approved by the FAA. For related news